December 2018 Summary

The month started off wet, with over an inch of rain soaking the region on the first day. Those rains made 2018 the wettest year on record at Lexington.

On December 8-9 the second ice storm of the season rolled across the region, coating outdoor objects in 0.10-0.28" of glaze in southern Kentucky.

Another round of heavy rain came through on the 14th-15th as low pressure moved very slowly from the lower Mississippi Valley into the Tennessee Valley. One to three inches of rain fell. It was these rains that made 2018 the wettest year on record at Frankfort.

The month ended with a bang as a squall line brought heavy rain and gusty winds to the region. A New Year's Eve EF-1 tornado briefly touched down between Corydon and Brandenburg. The heavy rains made 2018 Louisville's wettest year on record.

	Average Temperature	Departure from Normal	Precipitation	Departure from Normal	Snow	Departure from Normal
Bowling Green	42.7°	+4.1°	5.13"	+0.33"	1.2"	0"
Frankfort	40.6°	+5.3°	5.40"	+1.39"
Lexington	41.0°	+5.0°	6.06"	+2.13"	0.1"	-2.4"
Louisville Bowman	43.0°	+5.8°	5.51"	+1.50"
Louisville International	43.0°	+5.1°	5.90"	+2.07"	T	-2.6"

Records

1st: Record rainfall of 0.97" at Bowling Green, record rainfall of 1.10" at Lexington, record rainfall of 1.62" at Louisville

Ice in southern Kentucky December 9, 2018

Ice in southern Kentucky on the 9th. Photo by Jeremy Byrn